Thought Fox

Fox: What do you mean? Starting with an interpretation of â€Å"The Burnt Fox,† and going on to an analysis of the poem, aim to figure out what exactly might be the relation of poem to dream, dream to poem. Refer closely to both, quote, and analyze what you have quoted, in support of your argument. In the year of 1952, Ted Hughes was a second year student at Cambridge University. For the first two years of his schooling he studied English in hopes to become a poet. However during his time there he had a profound experience. For quite some time Hughes was working on a paper over the lasting contributions of Samuel Johnson but had only ever been able to wright one sentence. The night before the paper was due for his English teacher he gave up and went to sleep. That night he had a very graphic and disturbing dream about a fox. In his dream he was still sitting at his desk trying to write his paper. He looks over at the door and a fox face peers. The fox stands about five or six feet of the ground on two legs and is as large as a human. However, one of the more disturbing parts of the fox is that it is burnt and â€Å"smoldering all over as if it just escaped from a furnace† (Rees 2009; 3). The fox walks over to Hughes and puts its paw, which looks like a human hand at this point, on the blank page. He smears blood on the page and says, â€Å"You are killing us†. Hughes studied English in school so he could become a poet or creative writer. However, his studies never seemed to be geared in such a manner. The burnt fox dream here is a cry for help. Hughes seems to be splitting his own self by not being able to do what it is he loves. The strict writing style that’s expected of him is not in his true nature. The fox, his inner self, in the dream is dying because Hughes’ has to stifle or suppress his real identity. The stereotypical archetype of the fox is wit. Wit and knowledge are closely related. Here the fox is clearly burring, representing the destruction of knowledge. Through the further examination of the Thought Fox, the poem he wrote after his dream, we can see that it is very closely related to the dream through deep symbolism. After this dream Hughes changed his study major to anthropology and archeology. This important change in his life sparks this poem. In the first sentence he sets the time at midnight. This word is very powerful. Midnight is a time that’s neither night nor day. It’s a transition period, which is important to this poem as there is a transition being made in the author life. The next line reads something else is alive. I feel like this is playing on something that is distantly known to Hughes. Perhaps it could be the creativity that he knows he possesses but that he has lost somewhere. In the end of the first stanza he talks about the blank page where his fingers move. Here I feel it doesn’t represent anything but, it is more of the literal blank page that he was trying to write his English paper on. At the beginning of the second stanza the poem starts to become not only personally deep but also slightly dark. There are two pieces of symbolism here that invoke a strong emotional response. He see(s) no stars through the window. This is a metaphor for a lack of hope. Stars give off light and light can be easily seen as hope. Hughes is thoroughly crushed by the pressure of the essay he’s been struggling with. The window is the reader’s way of seeing into Hughes’ more personal self and deepest feelings. If we go through the window, at first we can only see the darkness of his loneliness, which he explains throughout the rest of the second stanza. Next we see a fox. Hughes thought it was very important to understand nature if we wanted to understand ourselves. He even wrote a whole series of poems on animals. All of which have extraordinarily spiritual meanings that relate to everyday human life. The image of a fox's nose touches twig, leaf is presented to us. This is a beautiful scene that can only take place in nature. Hughes is trying to reconnect with his spirit animal, the fox, by connecting with nature. He is trying to find his primordial self; his true nature. This true nature is his creativity. Then it’s almost as if he has connected when he expresses that the moment is viewed through the fox’s eyes: two eyes serve a moment that now, and again now, and now. The word snow is seen again for the second time in the beginning of the forth stanza. Here it can be interpreted in two ways. On one hand we can view the fox literally as it sets neat prints into snow as he walks or on the other hand the snow could be seen as the blank page he’s trying to work on. After this entence though, the poem gets even blacker again. Hughes uses a lot of words in the next three lines such as lame, shadow, hollow, lags, and stump. These words all have a negative connotation that come with them. There is an immense amount of struggle and pain that the author is dealing with. However after the fox leads the readers through the forest the pain and evil of the darkness seem to leave. Itâ €™s almost as if we, the readers, have come upon a literal clearing in the fifth stanza. It seems to be viewed through the eye of the fox again with extreme pleasure. Words like greenness and brilliance can be easily categorized as something that is seen in a positive light. There are contrasting feelings in stanza four and five. As Hughes moves form one view to the other we can see the deep spiritual transition from anger and sadness to happiness and relief. It’s almost as the fox has been the guide in the journey to an enlightening experience. From here we can determine that it is not a literal clearing we’ve come to but a clarity in the since of a new state of mind. Hughes has realized that his current studies are crushing him and he knows he has to change. However in the last four lines there is a clear warning that is given by the Burnt Fox. The poem seems as if it were to end in a joyous manner. However, the Burnt Fox sneaks, as foxes often do, into the hole of the head, back into his thoughts and create the since of doom again. There is now the same lack of light from the stars, the same lack of hope. The sharp hot stink of the fox is a strong reminder that he must change his life before he destroys himself. The poem ends with the page is printed. Printing ink on a page is a very permanent action. So permanent that it could symbolize the sealing of one’s fate. If Hughes didn’t change the current suppression of his inner self he could permanently damage himself. Hughes’ work is very symbolic and can be interpreted in many ways. When comparing the Burnt fox to the Thought fox many connections can be made. The readers can clearly see the pain Hughes was hiding. It is very important as we move through our lives that we stay true to our inner nature if we wish to be happy.

Overview of accounting analysis Essay

1. A finance student states, â€Å"I don’t understand why anyone pays any attention  to accounting earnings numbers, given that a ‘clean’ number like cash from operations is readily available.† Do you agree? Why or why not? I disagree with the finance student, because net income forecasts future cash flow and is informative. a. Net income forecasts future cash flow better than current cash flow, and does so by recording transactions associated with cash consequences when the transactions occur, rather than when the cash is received or paid. To compute net income, the effects of economic transactions are recorded on the basis of expected, not necessarily actual, cash receipts and payments. b. Net income is informative when corporate managers have better information than outside investors. Corporate managers use accrual rather than cash accounting to prepare financial reporting and determine net income. Since accrual accounting helps managers to record past events and forecast future events, net income gives superior information. 2. Fred argues: â€Å"The standards that I like most are the ones that eliminate all management discretion in reporting – that way I get uniform numbers across all companies and don’t have to worry about doing accounting analysis†. Do you agree? Why or why not? I disagree with Fred, because the elimination of delegation of reporting to management will create chaos and misinterpretation of financial statements. Corporate managers know how to apply and judge business transactions using the accrual accounting framework. They have inside information and make appropriate judgments to convey that information to investors and forecast future performance. If this discretion is eliminated, managers will be unable to make use of inside information in reported financial statements. However, since investors view profits as a measure of a manager’s performance, some managers have an incentive to use their accounting  discretion to distort reported profits by making biased assumptions. Also, the use of accounting numbers in contracts between the firm and outsiders provides a motivation for management manipulation of accounting numbers. Therefore, the delegation of financial reporting decisions to managers has both costs and benefits. Accounting rules and auditing are mechanisms deigned to reduce the cost and preserve the benefit of delegating financial reporting to corporate managers. 3. Bill Simon says, â€Å"We should get rid of the FASB and SEC, since free market forces will make sure that companies report reliable information.† Do you agree? Why or why not? Free market forces do not make sure that all companies report reliable information. Bill assumes that corporate managers do not disclose unreliable information and that they share inside information with outside investors. In real life, managers disclose false information and investors don’t detect inside information right away. Therefore, FASB and SEC force managers to disclose reliable information and comply reasonably with U.S. GAAP standards. 4. Many firms recognize revenues at the point of shipment. This provides an incentive to accelerate revenues by shipping goods at the end of the quarter. Consider two companies, one of which ships its products evenly throughout the quarter, and the second of which ships all its products in the last two weeks of the quarter. Each company’s customers pay 30 days after receiving shipment. Using accounting ratios, how can you distinguish these companies? Both companies will have the same amount of revenues and expenses in their income statements. However, their balance sheets will show different amounts. At the end of each quarter, the company that ships its products evenly throughout the quarter should have higher cash and a lower accounts receivable balance than the company that ships all its products in the last two weeks of the quarter. We can distinguish between these companies using the following accounting  ratios: a. Accounts Receivable Turnover Ratio = Sales Accounts Receivable The company that ships its products evenly throughout the quarter and has steady sales will have a higher accounts receivable turnover ratio. b. Accounts Receivable Days Ratio = Accounts Receivable Average Sales per Day The company that ships its products evenly throughout the quarter and has steady sales will have a lower accounts receivable days ratio. c. Cash Ratio = Cash + Short-Term Investments Current Liabilities The company that ships its products evenly throughout the quarter and has steady sales will have a higher cash ratio. 5. A. If management reports truthfully, what economic events are likely to prompt the following accounting changes? a. Increase in the estimated life of depreciable assets. If managers find out that the actual life of the depreciable assets lasted longer than was expected, managers will increase the estimated life of depreciable assets. b. Decrease in the uncollectible allowance as a percentage of gross receivables. The firm will decrease the percentage of uncollectable allowance when it receives orders from reliable customers. In contrast, the firm will increase the percentage of uncollectable allowance when it receives orders from unreliable customers. c. Recognition of revenues at the point of delivery, rather than at the point  cash is received. A firm could recognize revenues at the point of delivery rather than at the point of cash receipt when its customer’s credit improves or its customer’s cash payment is not a risk. d. Capitalization of a higher proportion of software R&D costs. A firm will capitalize a higher proportion of software R&D costs when the firm has established the technical and commercial feasibility of the asset for sale or use. For example, technical and commercial feasibility may be established when the firm completes the software and either uses it or sells it and is able to demonstrate how the intangible asset will generate future economic benefits. 5.B. What features of accounting, if any, would make it costly for dishonest managers to make the same changes without any corresponding economic changes? Opinion of third parties. Auditors provide a clean opinion of a firm’s financial statements. If the changes in the accounting policy are reasonably consistent with economic changes, auditors will not provide a clean opinion of the financial statements. Accrual reversal effect. Aggressive capitalization of software R&D expenditures will increase net income in the current period, but the later writing-off of capitalized R&D costs will decrease net income in the following period. Lawsuit. If a firm discloses false financial information and its investor loses because of that information, the firm will pay legal penalties. Labor Market Discipline. The labor market for managers will discipline those who are perceived as unreliable managers in dealing with external parties. 6. The conservatism principle arises because of concerns about management’s incentives to overstate the firm’s performance. Joe Banks argues: â€Å"We could get rid of conservatism and make accounting numbers more useful if we delegated financial reporting to independent auditors, rather than to  corporate managers.† Do you agree? Why or why not? I don’t agree with Joe Banks, because if we delegate financial reporting to independent auditors rather than to corporate managers, we will decrease the quality of financial reporting. Auditors don’t have all the inside information that corporate managers have when the economic reality of the firm is displayed. Furthermore, the way managers and auditors assess a firm is different. Auditors could apply accounting standards to assess business transactions in a mechanical way rather than using their professional judgment, leading to poor quality financial reporting. For example, everybody agrees that market-value accounting provides relevant information; however, auditors are concerned more about the audit liability. 7. A fund manager states: â€Å"I refuse to buy any company that makes a voluntary accounting change, since it’s certainly a case of management trying to hide bad news.† Can you think of any alternative interpretation? Voluntary accounting change could happen because business circumstances have changed in the firm. For example, unusual increases in receivables might be due to changes in a firm’s sales strategy, or unusual decreases in the allowance for uncollectible receivables might be reflecting a change in a firm’s customer focus. Therefore, an analyst should use qualitative information such as the evaluation of the context of the business strategy and economic circumstances, and not deliberately interpret the firm’s accounting change as earnings manipulation. 8. Fair value accounting attempts to make financial information more relevant to financial statement users, at the risk of greater subjectivity. What factors would you examine to evaluate the reliability of fair value assets? We should examine the fair value hierarchy to evaluate the reliability of fair value assets. Level 1 is the most reliable in terms of valuating fair value assets because it is based on quoted prices, like a closing stock price in the Wall Street Journal. Level 2 is the next most reliable and would rely on evaluating similar assets or liabilities in active markets Level 3 is the least reliable level because it requires a good deal of judgment and is based on the best information available (such as a company’s own data or assumptions) to arrive at a relevant and reliable fair value measurement. Financial statement users can trust prices in liquid markets as long as observable inputs such as level 1 and 2 reflect quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities. In level 3, we encounter unobservable inputs.

Linguistic Cues for Children Essay

How does linguistic variation cue representations of a speaker’s social identity and, presumably, stereotypes about relevant social groups? Although studies have indicated that phonetic variation in speech may activate social stereotypes (Purnell, Idsardi & Baugh, 1999), research on the mechanisms of this process has been scant. The term â€Å"stereotype† was introduced into the variations of sociolinguistic literature in Labov’s (1973) taxonomy of language forms charged with broad social meaning, reprised in Labov (2001). The first element in this classification, â€Å"indicators†, are variables whose use is restricted to certain social groups, but whose use â€Å"shows zero degree of social awareness and are difficult to detect for both linguists and native speakers† (Labov 2001, p. 196). â€Å"Markers†, the second category, occur when â€Å"indicators† rise to the level of social consciousness. They exhibit â€Å"social recognition usually in the form of social stigma†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Labov 2001, p. 197) The third linguistic element is that of â€Å"stereotypes†. Labov (1973, p. 314) defines these as â€Å"socially marked forms, prominently labeled by society. †Labov (1973) elaborates, stating: â€Å"stereotypes are referred to and talked about by members of the speech community; they may have a general label, and a characteristic phrase which serves equally well to identify them† As they grow, children learn to become members of the cultures into which they are born, it is from here that they get their cognitive understanding of the physical and more importantly the social world. The following assignment explores the influences that different language styles have on the cultural outlook that children grow up to have, especially in context of stereotypes or prejudices that they might carry. When children babble, very often the first words that they say are to serve some social purpose. (for example – ‘hi’ or waving their hand to show greeting. In the Indian context, they are taught to touch feet of elder people. ) We know that the grammatical complexity of sentences increases with age. In some cultures children are talked to by adults a lot more than other cultures. Along with this, the nature and modification of speech, long sentences with more adjectives, exaggerations, also take place. This gives us an idea that children who are spoken to more, are more included in the adult world and grow up to be more inquisitive and close knit. Language can be biased against women by ignoring their existence. Biased language can also reinforce people’s false ideas of what men and women are. A fixed image of someone based on unsourced evidence and observation is called a stereotype. For example, television is full of stereotypes. A â€Å"normal† British family depicted by television advertisements has two children at school, a father who works full time and a mother who stays at home and looks after the house. The trouble with this picture of a â€Å"normal† family is that it is totally false. Only 5% of households are really like this. Many stereotypes are concerned with being male or female and how males and females are supposed to behave. For example women are supposed to be â€Å"gentle† and men â€Å"aggressive†, girls are supposed to be â€Å"quiet† and boys â€Å"noisy†. But just think of how many noisy girls and quiet boys you know and you realise what a false impression stereotypes can give. In the Japanese culture, talking a lot and loudly is considered disrespectful; hence implying that talking politely means talking softly and talking less. Proverbs such as ‘talkative males are embarrassing’ are taught to children, automatically developing in them a stereotypical image of the traits that are present in ‘good men’. Japanese mothers do not ask for elaborate recounting of occurrences and interrupt children frequently while they speak; North American mothers on the other hand ask questions to make children talk more – thus, the Japanese encourage concision and the North Americans self expression. Thus, language is used to teach cultural values that promote some stereotypical ideas that get stored in the child’s brain. As adults talk to children, they start teaching culturally specific language practices and transmitting cultural values. Language also conveys culturally specific values through the books that children read, exposing them to culturally different ideas. I would like to bring to your notice the example of History books in India and those in Pakistan. The language used to portray the two countries’ perception of each other encourages the students to develop a particular image of the historical happenings. The language used is brash and insulting and there are many words that cannot imply any different or alternate meaning. These have consequences, and it is highly possible that these values are transmitted to children and they carry it with them for their lifetime. The perception that they develop because of the language that is used in books alters the outlook that they have about Islamic religion and it is generalized to all people from Pakistan. The notion that the language we speak or are spoken to influences the way we think and thus, our behavior is  illustrated by Benjamin Whorf, who meant that language shapes thought. One belief is that – If language is the way thought is expressed, then acquiring language should have consequences for developing thought, and differences in the language acquired should result in differences in the cognitive processes of the speakers of those languages. If we were to go with this belief then cultures in which discrimination, racism, class system, biases etc are prevalent, children would grow up with these ideologies as they hear about these things all the time. If languages differ in the distinctions that they make, then learning the language must consist in part learning to make those distinctions too. â€Å"The fact of the matter is that the ‘real world’ is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group†¦ we see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because of the language habits of our community predisposes certain choices of interpretation† as said by Sapir, Whorf’s teacher. While Whorf himself quoted â€Å"We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances to it, as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize it in this way – an agreement that holds through our community and is codified in the patterns of our language†. With the theory that says that concepts and words develop together, it is understood that the language that we speak is the medium through which we perceive the world and the episodes and people that are part of it. Words are a form of new information. Learning the word and the concept happen simultaneously. These concepts get coded in the system of the child and it translates to their thinking and understanding of things. Black children born in the United States, who have grown up in poverty and in an unstable environment, listening to their families about talk about their depraved state and attending schools that teach them self defence and attitudes of equality, or schools where they stand victim of their colour they learn attitudes of resilience and fighting back – the way they are spoken to and referred to impacts the way they think of the deal as they grow older. The beliefs that they carry with them from their natives gets reinforced and observable in these kind of settings. In the western world the reference to sex is very free, in Central Asian countries, this reference is not very freely done. As a result of the language that is used in the two places, in terms of sexual engagement, the concept and attitude that the children of the two places carry are vastly different and their approach towards it is also different The effects of parental naming practices on cognition may be hard to untangle from the effects of other information. The parents who are use more adjectives and are more specific in their description of people or ideals, those children also have more capacity for distinctive characteristics. Let us consider another example – Incorrect: Although she was blonde, Mary was still intelligent. Revised: Mary was intelligent. A speaker that is using a given arrangement of allophonic variations falling into socially relevant categories would cue the perception of a social / linguistic identity for a given listener. This model is, then, rather compatible with models of sociolinguistic variation that subscribe to exemplar theory. Thus, along with direct observation, we have seen that children also learn from what others say. Thus, children who are told different things will end up with different prejudices and biases of the world. This influence of language on the development of culture specific beliefs would also count as an example of language as a vehicle of socialization. BIBLIOGRAPHY – 1. The Fundamentals of Cognitive Psychology – Chapter 7, Language, Culture and Cognition in Development. 2. Sociolinguistic Cognition : Stereotypes in Sociolinguistics 3. http://www. steverhowell. com/lakoff. pdf 4. Stereotype Dynamics 5. About Cognitive Linguistics.

Corporate Finance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Corporate Finance - Assignment Example According to the analysis made, the LCC project proves more viable considering its profitability index, which improves on the meaning of the net present value and the payback period. Under this project, the company waits for less than two years for the machine to start gathering revenue while the HCC machine takes up to three years. Considering possibilities of risk, the HCC machine takes even longer yet the LCC machine still maintains the payback period frame. It is recommendable for the company to invest in the LCC project machine. Based on the Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, Profitability Index and the Pay Back Period of the two projects considered separately, the project that utilizes the LCC machine is more appropriate. The criterion above aim at evaluating the aspects that relate to time value for money (Steve, Jenkins and Sawyers, 2008). Considering the fact that it has a more positive NPV and it has a shorter Pay Back Period makes it a more worth project compared to the one that uses the HCC. The difference in life spans of the project makes machine HCC look more appropriate but the fact that the machine is so expensive and yet the impact it has on the revenue is meager makes it an expensive machine for the company to aim for. Considering that, inflation is part of the value for money makes the machine attractive since the more the company uses it the more it earns back. Recommendation best for the company in relation to the table is for them to buy the LCC machine. The LCC machine has the company recover its money back in less than two years while the HCC gives the company 3 years for it to recover their money back. Once the life span of the LCC machine is used up, the salvage value is still attractive enough to help the company purchase another machine and proceed with the project. Considering aspects of interest and the loan used

Evaluating Eligibility Rules of A Social Program Essay

Evaluating Eligibility Rules of A Social Program - Essay Example t, let it be clear, first of all, that the specific social program â€Å"combines private sector management consulting strategies with the Foundation’s system reform expertise to help improve outcomes for children and families by transforming the management and accountability structure, operations, and front-line practice of public agencies.† (The Annie E. Casey foundation, 2007). There are various eligibility rules available to undertake an evaluation of the program. It is of paramount significance to assess which one or ones of these rules go into the making of the program and an assessment of the appropriateness of the rule/rules adopted and make some suggestions for the improvement of the strategy and the rules if necessary etc. First of all, it may be noted that the eligibility rules governing the program have a wider scope and they cover such varied norms such as professional discretion, prior contribution, private contracts, administrative discretion, and judicial decisions. The purpose or the mission of the program, i.e. â€Å"to  provide intensive strategic consulting that facilitates significant, measurable, and enduring human service system transformations† proves the aptness of the eligibility rules selected to augment the efforts of the foundation in the concerned areas. (The Annie E. Casey foundation, 2007). However, it does not mean that the types of eligibility rules are without their limitations to cover the necessities of such a vast and highly reputed program. It is a reputed social program which is aimed at assisting the foundation in its efforts to provide services to the betterment of the vulnerable children and their families and, therefore, the strategies adopted need to focus the wider spectrum of related areas. The effectiveness of the program cannot be implemented just by the abstract programs and efforts. Rather, the concretization of the eligibility rules occupies greater significance, for which an exact and clear-cut framework of the

Apology letter for an assault happened two years ago Essay

Apology letter for an assault happened two years ago - Essay Example I have been nurturing these feelings of grief, guilt and repentance ever since I threw coffee on you and hurt you badly. Please, believe me that I am not a habitual binge drinker. I drink occasionally but that night at the club, my friends indulged me in heavy drinking which made me lose my nerves in the morning. I could vividly see a group of girls videotaping me, and that infuriated me. Please, trust me that basically I am a very good natured and calm person. I don’t know why I became so angry that day that I lost my temper and threw a hot mug of coffee on you. I wish I was in my senses. But time has passed, leaving only the repentance and remorse in my heart for my whole life. I cannot undo what I have done. I cannot bring back those moments. I wish I could undo the harm that I have done to you. I know that the physical injury will soon vanish, but the emotional and mental pain that I have caused you will hardly ever go away. All of that is just because of my stupidity and carelessness, of which I am really apologetic. Oh! How I wish I could rewind the time and undo the harm that I have done to you. I am so regretful. I also know that I do not deserve you excusing me, nor do I deserve a mini-second of your time. But please, consider my feelings. I have tried my best to remove from my nature what caused me to bring pain to a human being. I have attended almost over twenty therapy sessions with a psychologist. I have also attended a positive change inner mindset class with a social worker to remove all negativity from my behavior. I have completed almost 500 hours of community service at Salvation Army, breakfast club- a place where poor and homeless people are fed. I have done all this to bring empathy and kindness into my nature. I have also contacted a psychologist for counseling regarding quitting drinking. I really want to change myself. I want to become a person that is compassionate toward others. My assault toward you

The Appeal Court Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Appeal Court - Research Paper Example The appeal was based on the fact that the evidence put forth by the prosecution was not sufficient enough to prove him guilty and the decision should be reversed in favor of the appellant. According to the case, the prosecution in the trial court postulated that both Jonathan Parker and Leroy Lewis were narcotics dealers and that Parker had killed his associate Lewis because of his failure to share the robbed cocaine equally among themselves.The prosecution argued that Parker shot Lewis on his head after discovering that Lewis had lied about the total amount of narcotics stolen. The prosecution roped in three other drug dealers to strengthen their argument. On the other side, Jonathan Parker appealed that the evidence put forth by the government was not direct but a wrong inference which was deducted out of unrelated activities. His main defense points were that there was no eyewitness to testify the shooting or to give any statements concerning about the shooting. The prosecution al so could not prove the matching of DNA or fingerprints nor the motive for the killing. They also failed to find or identify the weapon used for killing Lewis. The above case shows how the prosecution used circumstantial evidence to present their case. The appeals court, in this case, had to reverse the decision as this circumstantial evidence does not stand as absolute evidence against the appellant. The court decision must be based on concrete evidence which supports the conclusion of the inference drawn by the prosecution against the defendant.

Business Analysis-chipotle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Analysis-chipotle - Essay Example Many of the restaurants owned by the company are located within the large cities where they can easily reach the target clients. Since the target clients are the numerous city dwellers, a large population can be reached. Locations for the various restaurants are normally strategic and within a short reach from various sources of clients. The restaurant at stone town shopping centre is located near a shopping mall and those visiting the mall can easily access the restaurant; hence a great number of the visitors are enticed to get into the restaurant. Additionally, close proximity to public utilities like parking lots ensures that the business clients are able to reach the outlets easily (chipotle.com, 2014). The establishment has over 1600 outlets, which all operate under a single name of chipotle. The company is estimated to have employed about 45000 people working across the various outlets of the organisation in different countries and locations. The fundamental purpose for the existence of the business remains provision of food that is of good quality and value adding to the consumers. The restaurants serve food made using organic ingredients and naturally raised meat. The purpose of providing good quality food is clearly stated in the mission statement of the fast food chain; Food with integrity (chipotle.com, 2014). The organisation has endured a rapid expansion over a short period of time to reach the current number of outlets. Food in the restaurants is normally served in a fast food model that is utilised in ensuring the organisation serves as many customers as possible within the shortest possible time. The type of menu available normally includes food items that could be considered to be snacks under normal setting. The foods have, however, been enhanced with nutritional value to ensure that they meet the expectations of the organization and the customers as well (Seljak, 2009). The food cost for

Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 8

Taxation - Essay Example The decision of the amount of public opinions pay to devour today and the amount to put something aside for future utilization is among the most essential financial choices. It can have suggestions not just for the prosperity of the family units taking the choices, additionally for the rate at which the economy contributes and develops, and consequently the prosperity of future eras. (Wildasin And Boadway, 1995) . Taxation is one of numerous arrangements that influence the level of reserve funds. Other huge ones incorporate the arrangement of social protection, particularly benefits, additionally wellbeing and inability protection, welfare administrations and instruction; exchanges of different sorts; and obligation approach (Hmrc.gov.uk, 2014). None the less, the standards by which sparing conduct reacts to these different approaches are fundamentally the same. In the UK, people had the tendency of having progressive saving. This ensured that there were cash reserves to take care of a rainy day. Nevertheless, today the culture of progressive saving is dying out; partly because on the tax that is imposed on saving. The culture of saving needs one to have the highest levels of self-control. The UK government has imposed a 10% rate tax for saving. This means that the government gets 10% of the money that you have saved and are continuing to save (Tax aid, 2010). The system that is in use on taxation of saving in the UK is not fair and entails a lot of detail. This is so much in the accounts that gain interests on their savings. Saving is both important in ensuring economic growth and personal monetary security. There are several purposes for saving taxation in the tax system. Tax is based on income and savings of an individual and the difference between these two is the way tax on savings is treated. Tax on savings is always equal to the

Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Essay Example for Free

Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Essay A tell-tale heart – essay The gradual descent into insanity is a common characteristic of Edgar Allan Poe as an auteur. This being one of Poe’s shortest stories separates itself from his other literature as it draws its focus onto the irony of the stalking, and confession of the murder of an old man. ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ explores the mind of a mentally unstable and delusional individual on his descent to madness. In doing so the short story touches upon the contrasts between the rational and irrational. The ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ presents two physical settings. It is clear from the narrator’s perspective that there is a change of setting. â€Å"Observe how healthily – how calmly I can tell you the whole story†, the narrator then continues, â€Å"It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain†. This passage indicates that the story that is narrated, is told in retrospect. The passage can be interpreted as being the narrator attempting to justify his murder and convince the reader that he is not mad as he can tell the story calmly and sanely. The passage can also be perceived as being directed towards the police officers that are introduced at the end of the story. In doing so the narrator might also try to convince the police officers that his deed was justified and necessary. The theme of insanity is shown through the narrators descend into madness. The narrator states that â€Å"very gradually – I made up my mind to take the life of the old man† which marks the beginning of his descent. It is made clear to the recipient of the story that the narrator believes he is sagacious in his lurking. However, the narration gives the impression that he is a madman. The narrator says â€Å"I undid the lantern cautiously-oh, so cautiously – cautiously† and also says â€Å"I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily† and â€Å"you cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily†. The narrator’s reiterations present a sort of vocal tic which adds to his characteristic of being mentally unstable and mad. The story explores the contrasts between the rational and irrational. The theme of rationality is shown through the narrator’s attempts to rationalize his actions. The premise of the narrator’s suffocation of the old man is the ‘evil eye’ he has. Whenever the narrator gazes at the â€Å"dull blue† eye he experiences chills through â€Å"the very marrow† in his bones. This suggests that the old man’s eye terrifies him. It does, however, seem very unlikely that the old man has an inhuman eye â€Å"no human eye – not even his†. The rational explanation for the appearance of the eye that the narrator is fixated about, is that the old man is suffering from cataract. The disease bears a close resemblance to the eye of a vulture. This is proven by the narrator’s very similar description of the eye’s â€Å"pale blue, with a film over it† and â€Å"a dull blue, with a hideous veil†. This can also explain why the old man is never woken up or is disturbed by having the light shone into his â€Å"evil eye†. This is because he might be lacking vision in one eye. The narrator attempts to convince the reader that he is cunning and wise when observing the old man in his bed. The narrator’s irrational nature is emphasized in this passage where he very slowly enters the bedroom with only his head and lantern â€Å"It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed†. The use of irony in the short story adds to the narrator’s complete unawareness of his own instability expressed through his lack of rational perception. The narrator contradicts himself implicitly. He states that he â€Å"loved the old man† and that â€Å"he had never wronged me†. This implies that he had no quarrels with the old man and therefore had no motivation for murdering him. He then contradicts himself by being excited by the old man’s â€Å"uncontrollable terror†. The theme of irony is also shown when the narrator hears the old man’s â€Å"groan of mortal terror† and recognizes the feeling. The narrator â€Å"knew the sound well†, he had experienced them himself being â€Å"welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me†. This can be interpreted as the narrator explaining that he suffers from terrors which indicates that he has been or is feeling fear to the marrow of his bones and has experienced something horrific. This is also supported by the symbolism of the narrator burying the old man underneath the floorboards, which can be interpreted as him repressing his emotions and hiding them and then eventually being welled up when he confesses the murder. However, it is vaguely explained and remains a mystery to the readers. This corresponds well with the characteristic of the narrator which is only described implicitly. The narrator’s gender is not revealed. This might be because the gender of the narrator is not important to the story and that Edgar Allan Poe has written the story in such a way that the common reader assumes the gender of the narrator to be male. The most prominent ironic situation is the narrator’s own sagaciousness and over-acuteness that end up being the reasons for his confession to the police officers. His own hypersensitivity betrays him. This also supports his irrationality as he had confirmed the death of the old man when he felt his heart. He is however still convinced that the beating heart belongs to the â€Å"stone dead† man. This also shows his descent into madness as he perceives the noise as being a ringing in his ears, but then convinces himself that it is â€Å"the beating† of the old man’s â€Å"hideous heart†. He contradicts himself in this passage where he has previously described himself as cunning but is unable to correctly identify the source of the beating heart. ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ is a story that largely focuses on the inability of the narrator to judge his own state of sanity. This is further supported by the narrator frequently being deceived by his own senses and even contradicting himself which diminishes his reliability. The topic of repressed emotions and the border between sanity and insanity is addressed by interpreting the narrator’s behavior and actions. This determines that the narrator is indeed a madman.

Rise And Rise Of Dhirubhai

Rise And Rise Of Dhirubhai Dhirubhai once said: Our dreams have to be bigger, our ambitions higher, our commitment deeper and our efforts greater. This is my dream for Reliance. In fact, this is my dream for India. Indeed Dhirubhai has been successful in bringing his dream to reality. From a humble beginning, Dhirubhai Ambani was successfully able to build up the largest Business conglomerate in India in a span of just 25 years. Today, the turnover of Reliance Industries forms 3% of the entire GDP. This tremendous growth in such a small time is the result of the large amount of hard work, dedication and excellence that Dhirubhai Ambani brought in to the culture of Reliance Industries. As they say, there are two sides of the coin. While there is no doubt that Dhirubhai Ambani was a highly intelligent and dedicated manager, he was not perfect, in the right sense. For a long time Dhirubhais ethics have been a matter of debate. While some consider him as a shrewd businessman, the others dont approve of certain things he did. History Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani was born on 28th December 1932, in Chorwad Gujarat into a Modh family of moderate means. He was the second son of a school teacher. Right from childhood Dhirubhai was precocious and highly intelligent. He was highly impatient of the oppressive grinding mill of the school classroom. Chose work that used his physical ability to the maximum rather than cramming school lessons. At the age of 16, Dhirubhai moved to Aden, Yemen. He worked there as a clerk for A. Besse Co. For two years. Later he was promoted to manage the companys oil filling station at the port of Aden, when A. Besse became the distributors for Shell. Ten years later, Dhirubhai returned to India and started a business Reliance Commercial Corporation with a capital of Rs. 15000.00. The primary business of Reliance Commercial Corporation was import polyester yarn and export spices. The business was setup in partnership with Chambaklal Damani, his second cousin who was also there with him in Aden. The first office of Reliance Commercial Corporation was set up in Narsinathan Street at Masjid Bunder. It was a 350 sq. Ft room with a telephone, one table and three chairs. Initially they had two assistants to help them in their business. In 1965, Chambaklal Damani and Dhirubhai Ambani ended their partnership and Dhirubhai started on his own. It is believed that both had different temperament and a different take on business. While Mr. Damani was a conscious trader and did not believe in building yarn inventories, Dhirubhai was a known risk taker and he considered that building inventories with anticipating a price rise and making some profit is good for growth. During this period, Dhirubhai and his family used to stay in a one bedroom apartment in Bhuleshwar. In 1968, he moved from the chawl to an upmarket apartment at Altamount Road, in South Mumbai. His first car was a premier Padmini. In 1970s he bought a white Cadillac car. Dhirubhai started his first textile mill in Naroda in the year 1966. Textiles were manufactured using polyester fibre yarn. Dhirubhai started the brand Vimal, named after his nephew. Extensive marketing of the brand in the interiors of India made Vimal a household name. Franchised retail outlets were started to sell only Vimal brand of textiles. In the year 1975, a technical team from the World Bank, visit this unit and certified it as excellent even by developed country standards. Banks and financial institutions repeatedly turned him down when he needed money the most. He was just not in the same league as other businessmen of his time. This made him an out of the box thinker. Dhirubhais first public offering of 28.2 lakh equity shares in the then Reliance Textiles in November 1977 was oversubscribed nearly seven times. The issue fetched him Rs 3 crore, a big sum by the standards of those days. Between 1979 and 1982, Reliance made four debenture issues. In 1979 it was for a worsted mill; in 1980, for modernising its textile mill; in 1981, to manufacture polyester filament yarn at Patalganga. In 1982, he topped it all with a record Rs 50-crore issue for expansion and diversification. Dhirubhai treated his shareholders like family members. Such royal treatment endeared him to his investors, says Kisan Ratilal Choksey, Chairman of KR Choksey Shares and Securities, a leading Mumbai brokerage firm. Dhirubhai understood the power of equity funding for his mega projects, says Devesh Kumar, Managing Director of Centrum Broking. In that sense, he was a visionary, way ahead of his times, and an out-of-the-box thinker, he adds. He always made sure that the investors got returns commensurate their investments. Marriages, businesses, studies abroad of the investors have been said to be financed by Reliance. He coined the term Mega Issue. His faith in retail investor also gave a leg up to BSE and its 30-share sensitive index, Sensex. Lured by Reliances power to deliver dividends and higher stock prices, thousands flocked to the market. Dhirubhai was a visionary, because he looked at the future a future he knew he may not even be around to enjoy. But that what propelled him and his stakeholder benefited from his search for a better future. In 1982 Ambani began the process of backward integration, setting up a plant to manufacture Polyester filament yarn. He subsequently diversified into chemicals, gas, petrochemicals, plastics, and power and telecom services. RIL bought IPCL from the government of India to become Indias largest petrochemical player.   After the launch of the refining arm of reliance, Reliance achieved a huge cashflow position and has never looked back. Mukesh Ambanis statement that RIL will be like a makoda where even if a few legs are hurt, the organism will be hale and hearty and not stop its march forward. Behind the Scenes Despite his affability, some of his old colleagues describe Dhirubhai as a dark character-not just because of the darkish skin he inherited from his father-but for the ambition and risk taking he hardly concealed. He exported spices, often at a loss, and used replenishment licenses to import rayon. Later, when rayon started to be manufactured in India, he exported rayon, again at a loss, and imported nylon. Ambani was always a step ahead of the competitors. With the imported items being heavily in demand, his profit margins were rarely under 300 percent In the 1950s the Yemini administration realized that their main unit of currency Rial was in disappearing. After investigating the matter it was realized that all Rials were routed to the Port City of Aden. There a young man in twenties was placing unlimited buy orders of Yemini Rials. During those days the Yemini Rial was a pure silver coin and was much in demand at the London Bullion Exchange. Young Dhirubhai would buy Rial, melt it in pure silver and sell it to bullion traders in London. Reliance expanded its equity base through frequent rights and bonus issues to shareholders, while financial institutions converted 20 per cent of their loans into equity in September 1979. But the use of convertible debentures catapulted Dhirubhai Ambani into the big league in the capital markets. Dhirubhai had anticipated the governments policy with regards to the convertible debentures and the Series I issue of partially convertible debentures by Reliance in October 1979 raised Rs 70 million. Although Reliance was not alone in trying the long disused instrument but from late 1980 the issues of partially convertible debentures coming from Reliance in quick succession, raising Rs 108 million in September from its Series 11 and Rs 240 million from its Series 111 the next year, and Rs 500 trillion from Series IV in April 1982. Dhirubhai capped that by obtaining from Sen Gupta clearance to do what should normally be legally impossible: converting the non-convertible portions of the four debenture issues into equity. This proved to be a master stroke. By this method, dubbed a brilliant and unconventional move by many, Dhirubhai-Reliance was able to chop Rs 735 million off its debt book in 1983, and turn it into comparatively modest equity of Rs 103 million, while reserves were raised by Rs 632 million. Instead of an annual interest bill of Rs 96.5 million on debentures, the dividend burden from the extra equity was only around Rs 36 million. This transmutation allowed Reliance to continue raising more quasi-debt, with its E Series of partially convertible debentures in October 1984 which raised another Rs 800 million. This reduced the debt equity ratio and further increased the attractiveness of the Reliance stock which was becoming an outperformer on the Indian Stock exchanges. Reliance always used to persuade the regulators with respect to its debenture issues. This did not mean that all its issues were approved without any hurdles. All questions being raised were not disposed of by Reliances policy of SALAM. On one occasion, the regulator rejected the premium that Reliance was seeking to put on an issue, on the ground that projected profitability had not been indicated. Without a pro-forma balance sheet for the current year-an extension of results to date-it could not be accepted. In 1982, Dhirubhai created waves in the stock markets when he took on a Kolkata-based cartel of bear operators that had sought to hammer down the share price of Reliance Industries. The cartel badly underestimated the Ambani ability to fight back. Not only did Dhirubhai manage to ensure the purchase of close to a million shares that the bear cartel offloaded, he demand physical delivery of shares. The bear cartel was rattled. In the process, the bourses were thrown into a state of turmoil and the Bombay Stock Exchange had to shut down for a couple of days before the crisis was resolved. After this incident many questions were raised by the press. People could not understand that how; a yarn trader till a few years ago was able to raise such a huge cash flow in the time of crisis. The answer stood in a story detailed how companies registered in the tax haven, Isle of Man, with ridiculous names like Crocodile Investments, Iota Investments and Fiasco Investments had purchased Reliance shares at one-fifth their market prices. Curiously, most of these firms were controlled by a clutch of non-resident Indians who had the same surname, Shah. Yet another article detailed how the group had been the beneficiary of a loan mela a number of banks had loaned funds to more than 50 firms that had all purchased debentures issued by Reliance Industries In 1993, Reliance was in the bidding for several oilfields in the Arabian Sea. The government oil search corporation had discovered the fields but did not have the funds to build the huge production rigs, gas compressors and pipelines that were needed. Several contacts among rival bidders were alleging that the tender was being rigged in favour of Reliance. Indian politicians and bureaucrats are masters at tilting an open and transparent tender into a one-horse race, by techniques such as keeping the weighting of bidding factors uncertain or secretly promising later concessions to compensate for underbidding. In the event, Reliance swept the field, and a director with one of the losers told me: We were shafted, and for the wrong reasons. Corporate Rivalry Reliance frequently, routinely, put any criticism or opposition to its actions down to motives of envy or a desire to pull down anyone achieving success. Throughout every crisis caused by exposure of alleged manipulations, its publicity took on a self-pitying Why is everyone always picking on us? tone. But the record tends to show that it was Dhirubhai and Reliance who often made the first move to put a spoke in a rivals wheels, whether it was Kapal Mehra of Orkay Silk Mills, Nusli Wadia of the Bombay Dyeing Group or, latterly, the Ruias of the Essar group. Coincidentally with disputes with Reliance, various rivals were hit with government inspections, tax problems, unfavourable press reports and physical attacks. The mid-eighties were a period during which the Reliance group got locked in a bitter turf battle with Bombay Dyeing headed by Nusli Wadia. The two corporate groups were producing competing products Reliance was manufacturing purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and Bombay Dye ing, di-methyl terephthalate (DMT). Wadia lost the battle and reportedly became the source of information for many of the articles against the Ambanis that subsequently appeared in  The Indian Express. In 1985, the Mumbai police accused a general manager in a Reliance group company of conspiring to kill Wadia, a charge that was never established in a court of law. Many years later, a newspaper owned by the Ambanis would accuse Wadia of illegally holding two passports and played up the fact that he was Mohammed Ali Jinnahs grandson. Year 1986 was a crucial one for Dhirubhai. He suffered a stroke in February that year. A few months later, the  Express  began publishing a series of articles attacking the Reliance group as well as the Indira Gandhi regime for favouring the Ambanis. These articles were co-authored by Arun Shourie who, ironically, later as Union Minister for Disinvestment in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government, presided over the sale of 26 per cent of the equity capital of the former public sector company, Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (IPCL), to the Reliance group. By gaining managerial control over IPCL, the Reliance group would now be able to dominate the Indian market for a wide variety of petrochemical products. Ramnath Goenka, once a friend of Dhirubhai, and owner of The Indian Express was also considered to be close with Nusli Wadia. On many occasions, Ramnath Goenka tried to intervene between the two warring factions and bring an end to the enmity. As the days passed by The Indian Express carried a series of articles against Reliance Industries and Dhirubhai in which they claimed that Dhirubhai was using unfair trade practices to maximise the profits. As Reliance had a close relationship with The Indian Express, Ramnath Goenka did not use his staff at the Indian Express to investigate the case but assigned his close confidant, advisor and chartered accountant S. Gurumurthy for this task. Apart from S. Gurumurthy, another journalist Maneck Davar who was not on the rolls of Indian Express started contributing stories. The end to the tussle came only after Dhirubhai Ambani met with a stroke. While Dhirubhai Ambani was recovering in San Diego, his sons Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani managed the affairs. The Indian Express had turned the guns against Reliance and was directly blaming the government for not doing enough to penalise Reliance Industries. The battle between Wadia Goenka and Ambanis had become so big that it became a national crisis. It was not as if Indian politicians had not helped other industrialists in the past. However, the difference in the business-politics nexus at that time lay in the fact that by the time the Reliance groups fortunes were on the rise, the Indian economy had become more competitive. Thus, it was not enough for those in power to promote the interests of a particular business group. It became necessary to simultaneously put down the competition. Managing the Environment Dhirubhai, more than many of his fellow industrialists, understood and appreciated the importance of managing the environment, a euphemism for keeping politicians and bureaucrats happy. Ideas are no ones monopoly. Those who criticise me and Reliances growth are slaves to tradition, if not to outright conservatism and complacency; the criticisms were put down to jealousy. But the same Man also felt you have to sell your ideas to the government. Selling the idea is the most important thing, and for that Id meet anybody in the government. I am willing to salaam anyone. His willingness to salaam anyone and his cultivation of junior staff and newcomers had by the early 1980s created a huge network of friends in politics, government ministries and financial circles. Earlier, goodwill had been cemented by gifts of the famous suit-lengths of material. After the float of Reliance in 1977, Dhirubhai was able to allocate parcels of shares or debentures from the promoters quota of any issue, wit h a profit virtually guaranteed by the gap between issue and market prices or by the prospect of conversion. He made no secret of the fact that he did not have an ego when it came to paying obeisance before government officials be they of the rank of secretary to the Government of India or a lowly peon. It is hardly a secret that Dhirubhais support base would easily cut across political lines. Very few politicians have had the gumption to oppose the Ambanis, just as the overwhelming majority of journalists in the country preferred not to be critical of the Reliance group. The Indian media, most of the time, has chosen to lap up whatever has been doled out by the groups public relations executives. The bureaucracy too has, by and large, favoured the Ambanis, not merely on account of the fact that many  babus have got accustomed to receiving expensive hampers on the occasion of  diwali. Indira Gandhis return to power opened a golden period for Dhirubhai Ambani. In 1979, his company barely made it to the list of Indias 50 biggest companies, measured by annual sales, profits or assets. By 1984, Reliance was in the largest five. Dhirubhai himself had become one of the most talked and written about persons in India, gaining a personal following more like that of a sports or entertainment star than a businessman. It was also the period when Dhirubhai made the most rapid part of his transition, in the bitter words of a senior non-Congress politician in 1996, from supplicant-the most abject kind of supplicant-to influencer and then to controller of Indian politics. Dhirubhai A legend People close to Dhirubhai said that there were three Dhirubhai Ambanis. One was unique, larger than life, a brand name. He was one of the most talked about industrialists, and for Gujarati people he has tremendous emotional and sentimental appeal. He is their ultimate man, and has inspired many emulators. The second Dhirubhai Ambani is a schemer, a first-class liar, who regrets nothing and has no values in life. Then there is the third Dhirubhai Ambani, who has a more sophisticated political brain, a dreamer and a visionary, almost Napoleonic. People always getting the three personalities mistaken. Dhirubhai was one man who tried to look beyond the obvious, who dared to dream and dared to achieve his dream. He did not let anything stop him. No restriction was strong enough to stop Dhirubhai Ambani. Whether what Dhirubhai has been claimed to do, he actually did or not, there is certainly no denying the fact that there is no businessman in India who attracted as much adulations as he did. He was more than a legend in his lifetime. He successfully convinced 4 million middle class households to invest their hard earned savings in Reliance Industry Groups. He fondly referred to his shareholders as family members and conducted annual shareholder meetings in the atmosphere of large melas attended by hordes. Dhirubhai Ambani was different man to different people. To his millions of investors, who had seen their share prices multiply, he was a business messiah. To one writer, he was a Frankensteins Monster created by Indias experiments with close government control of the economy. The strictly controlled import licences given to registered exporters of textiles, allowing import of raw materials worth a certain percentage of their export earnings. Like many others, Dhirubhai realised that these import or replenishment licences (known as REPS) were as good as money, even though some of them were officially not transferrable and imports had to be made by the actual user of the materials. By paying higher margins than any other traders, Dhirubhai soon became the main player in the market for REP licences. The margins were tiny in the trade itself but his dominance also put him in the position of being able to turn on and off much of the supply of yarn into the Indian market. Conclusion Dhirubhai Ambani built his company through outstanding abilities and drive on many fronts: as an innovative financier, an inspiring manager of talent, an astute marketer of his products, and as a forward-looking industrialist. The energy and daring that showed itself in his early pranks, practical jokes and trading experiments developed into a boldness and willingness to live with risk that few if any other Indian corporate chiefs would dare to emulate. His extraordinary talent for sustaining relationships, and sometimes impressing men of standing, won him vital support from both governments and institutions. The dark side of his abilities was an eye for human weakness and a willingness to exploit it. This gained him preferential treatment or at least a blind eye from the whole gamut of Indian institutions at various times.